Panic button: iPhone users need a way to protect their data when the law fails to do so

“Should you be able to plead the Fifth if authorities order you to unlock your iPhone using Touch ID?” Oscar Raymundo wonders for Macworld.

“A judge in California has recently ruled that your fingerprint does not have the same Constitutional protections as your numeric passcode, so Touch ID-enabled iPhones are susceptible to search warrants,” Raymundo writes. “Thankfully, Apple is considering developing a new way to protect our iPhones using Touch ID.”

Raymundo writes, “In this week’s iPhone Show, we look into an Apple patent that would give iPhones a new “panic mode” to lock out personal information or reset the device entirely.”

Full video here.

MacDailyNews Take: Should you be able to plead the Fifth if authorities order you to unlock your iPhone using Touch ID?

Yes, of course.

Sometimes the law gets too cute. We shouldn’t leave common sense out of the equation. The process is the same thing. You’re getting access to someone’s most private information by forcing someone to give you the key. — David Oscar Markus, Miami defense attorney

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You carry forever the fingerprint that comes from being under someone’s thumb. — Nancy Banks-Smith

To set a stronger alphanumeric passcode on your iOS device that cannot be easily brute-forced:
1. Settings > Touch ID & Passcode. On devices without Touch ID, go to Settings > Passcode
2. Tap Change Passcode
3. Tap Passcode Options to switch to a custom alphanumeric code
4. Enter your new, stronger passcode again to confirm it and activate it

SEE ALSO:
Feckless FBI unable to unlock iPhone, even with a ‘fingerprint unlock warrant’ – May 12, 2016
The Touch ID lock on your iPhone isn’t cop-proof – May 11, 2016
U.S. government wants your fingerprints to unlock your phone – May 1, 2016
Should you disable Touch ID for your own security? – May 9, 2016
Apple supplier LG Innotek embeds fingerprint sensor into display – May 4, 2016
U.S. government wants your fingerprints to unlock your phone – May 1, 2016
Android fingerprint scanners fooled by inkjet printer – March 8, 2016
Android fingerprint sensors aren’t as secure as iPhone’s Touch ID – August 10, 2015
Apple files for patent to move Touch ID fingerprint scanner from home button to display – February 9, 2015

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Rainy Day” for the heads up.]